Camera.



PATENTED FEB'. l0, 1903.

No. 720,040L

H. W. LOGKE.

CAMERA. APPLIOATIOH FILED JUNE 28, 1902.

H0 IODEL.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HARVEY W. LOCKE, OF ROCHESTER, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO CENTURY CAMERA COMPANY, OF ROCHESTER, NEW YORK, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

CAMERA.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N 0. 720,040, dated February 10, 1903.

Application filed June 28, 1902.

To all whom. it may concern:

Be it known that I, HARVEY W. LOCKE, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Rochester, in the county of Monroe and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Cameras, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to cameras. Its object is to provide simple and efficient means for clamping the lens-frame in different positions upon its guideways;'and it consists in the mechanism hereinafter described and claimed.

In the drawings, Figure l-is a front elevation of the lens-frame and its mechanism. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same. Fig. 3 is a bottom plan view of the clamping devices, and Fig. 4: is a cross-section on the line 4 4: of Fig. 2.

The lens-frame X is of any suitable form, but is herein shown as having a base two vertical standards so, and a top bar 00 A slot 00 is shown in one of the side rails 00 of the lens-frame, and a milled head z is shown,

which is part of a mechanism for raising and a lowering the lens holder within said lensframe. The lens-frame is supported upon a section 0 of the camera-bed and is adjustably secured thereon by the clamping device, which engages with the guideways w. Said frame is connected with a camera-box of suitable construction in the usual way, which is not represented in the drawings.

The clamping device is shown in detail in Figs. 3 and 4. This clamping mechanism is automatic, in that after the lens-frame has been unclamped from the ways the more release from the hand causes a clamping in the position where the lens-frame has been placed.

Through the base x of thelens-frame there extends upward a handle WV, which has a stem to, held in a stationary bearing in the lens-frame by a pin to, fastened in the frame and extending into a groove around said stem to. The lower end of the stem 10 is oblong, as shown in Fig. 4, by flattening the two sides of the stem, and constitutes a cam, as hereinafter shown. Upon the under side of the base-piece 00 is a plate 10 having upon it two bars 10 and 10 one of which, to", is fastened Serial No. 113,632. (No model.)

stationarily upon the plate w and the other of which, M is capable of movement to and from the bar and is normally pressed toward the bar 10 by means of a suitable spring. Rotation of the handle W moves the bar 10 away from the bar 10 against the tension of the spring, and then on releasing the handle W from the hand the spring carries the bar 10 back to place, so as to be in the clamping position on the ways so. A convenient construction for producing these results is a sliding plate 10, connected in any suitable manner, as by the pins w ,'with thebar 10 which pins pass through slots w in the plate 10 A stationary pin 10 inthe plate e0 serves as an abutment for the spring above mentioned, which in the present example of this invention is a flat spring 10 having its ends resting on abutments w in a suitable opening in the plate to". It is clear now that if the plate to is moved toward the right, as seen in Fig. 12, the spring 10 will be bent by pressure against the pin to", and when released the plate will resume its former position by the spring action.

It is convenient that the handle W should be at the front of the broad base as shown in Fig. 2, in order to give easy access of the hand to the handle, and it is also desirable that the bars 10 and 10 should have long bearings upon the ways m upon the folding front orlens-frame support, and in order to produce uniform movement, and therefore quick and prompt release of the bar to from the ways, a lever 20 is pivoted by the pin 10 to the upper side of the plate 10 and the fiattened sides of the end to of the operatingstem areset between one end of said lever and the neighboring flat face on the edge of the plate to, while the other end of the lever press s against a distant portion of said plate If the handle W be turned, the lever 20 is tilted and presses against one portion of the plate to, while the cam end 10 of the handle presses against another portion of said plate 10 so that both the top and the bottom edges of said plate, as seen in Fig. 3, move equally, and the bar 10 separates from the way to throughout its length. The parts are so adj usted and the slots 10 are of such length that the cam end cannot be turned atfright angles to the face of the plate 10, against which it bears, but can turn through a small angle only, the effect of which is that whenever the handle W is turned to the utmost limit permitted by the mechanisn1as, for instance,

setting the parts in the positions shown in dotted lines in Fig. 3and then the handle W is released from the hand the spring-pressure causes the return of all the parts; including the cam end 10 to the normal position of rest (shown in full lines in Fig. 3) and at the same time clamps the Ways a: between the plates 10 and 10 It is obvious that other cam forms on the end of the stem 10 may be employed and other forms of spring 10 and that other connections between the cam and the movable bar 10 may be used. So, too, the bars @12 and 10 may have different lengths and shapes from those shown in the drawings. In general the following claims are not intended to be limited to the specific devices herein shown and described, except where the state of the prior art requires such limitation.

What I claim is 1. In a camera, a lens-frame support having guideways, a lens-frame having two blocks, one of which is movable, a spring for pressing said movable block toward the other for clamping said ways, and a cam for moving said movable block away from the other, substantially as described.

2. In a camera, alens-frame support having guideways, a lens-frame having two blocks, one of which is movable, a spring for pressing said movable block toward the other for clamping said Ways, and a cam having a stationary bearing in the lens-frame for moving said movable block away from the other, sub stantially as described.

3. In acamera, a lens-frame supporthaving guideways, a lens-frame having two blocks, one of which is movable, a spring for pressing said movable block toward the other for clamping said ways, a plate connected with said movable block and having a flat edge, a retary cam on the lens-frame having a flattened side for engaging said fiat edge for operating said movable block to unclamp the ways, and means for limiting the extent of rotation of the cam, substantially as described.

4. In acamera, alens-frame support having guideways, a lens-frame having two blocks, one of which is stationary and the other of which is movable for clamping said guideways, a spring for pressing said movable block toward the other, a plate connected with said movable block, a lever pivoted on said lensframe and having one end normally resting against said plate, and a cam between the other end of said lever and said plate, substantially as described.

5. In acamera, alens-frame support having guideways, a lens-frame having a stationary block 10 and a movable block 10 for clamping said guideways, a supporting-plate w carrying said blocks, a plate w to which said movable block 10 is connected, a spring 10 for pressing said movable block toward the other and having a stationary abutment, a lever 10 pivoted to said plate 1113 and a handle having a cam end 10 having flattened sides, one of which rests against the face of the plate to and the other of which rests against one end of the lever in while the other end of said lever rests against another portion of the plate 10, substantially as described.

6. In a camera, a lens-frame support having guideways, a lens-frame having a stationary block 20 and a movable block 10 for clamping said guideways, a supporting-plate 10 carrying said blocks, a plate to to which the block 10 is connected by pins passing through slots in the plate 10 for limiting the motion of said block 10 a spring 10 for pressing said movable block toward the other and having a stationary abutment, a lever 10 pivoted to said plate 10 and a handle having a cam end w having flattened sides one of which rests against the face of the plate to and the other of which rests against one end of the lever 10 while the other end of said lever rests against another portion of the plate 10, substantially as described.

7. In acamera, alens-frame support having guideways, a lens-frame having two blocks, one of which is movable, a spring for pressing said movable block toward the other for clamping said ways, a plate connected with said movable block and having a fiat edge and a rotary cam on the lens-frame having a flattened side for engaging said flat edge for operating said movable block to clamp the ways substantially as described.

HARVEY W. LOOKE.

\Vitnesses:

D. GURNEE, F. BISSELL. 

